Susceptibility of different life stages of Blattella germanica (Blattodea: Blattellidae) and Periplaneta fuliginosa (Blattodea: Blattidae) to entomopathogenic fungi

The susceptibility of nymphs and adults of the German cockroach, Blattella germanica Linnaeus (Blattodea: Blattellidae) and the smokybrown cockroach, Periplaneta fuliginosa Serville (Blattodea: Blattidae) to Argentinian isolates of the entomopathogenic fungi Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschn.) Sorokin (CEP 085) and Beauveria bassiana (Bals.-Criv.) Vuill. (CEP 077) was evaluated. Fungi were tested by using two different methods: bait and direct contact. Mortality was monitored daily for twenty days to obtain LT50. M. anisopliae produced 60 and 93% mortality in nymphs and adults of B. germanica, respectively, when conidia were applied by direct contact. The LT50 for adults was 3.8 days, and 8.6 days for nymphs. Direct contact of B. bassiana produced 80% mortality on adults of B. germanica with a LT50 of 4.9 days, and for nymphs 40 % mortality in 10 days. When B. germanica was exposed to bait, the level of mortality was significant in adults. Nymphs of P. fuliginosa were treated with bait with M. anisopliae and B. bassiana and they caused 50% mortality with a LT50 of 22 days, and LT50 of 27 days respectively. Nymphs and adults of P. fuliginosa treated by direct contact and adults treated with bait showed that mortality level was not significantly different as compared to the control. Results showed differences in susceptibility between the two species of cockroaches and between nymphs and adults of the same species. In addition, different responses to the fungal species with the two methods that were used in the bioassays have been demonstrated. This is the first report of susceptibility of P. fuliginosa to entomopathogenic fungi. This study demonstrates the potential of fungi as biocontrol agents against this pest.Fil: Gutierrez, Alejandra Concepción. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico La Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores (i); Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: García, Juan José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico La Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores (i); Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Alzogaray, Raul Adolfo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas para la Defensa. Centro de Investigación de Plagas e Insecticidas; ArgentinaFil: Urrutia, María I.. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Lopez Lastra, Claudia Cristina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico La Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores (i); Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; Argentin

A Comparison between Frame-based and Event-based Cameras for Flapping-Wing Robot Perception

Perception systems for ornithopters face severe challenges. The harsh vibrations and abrupt movements caused during flapping are prone to produce motion blur and strong lighting condition changes. Their strict restrictions in weight, size, and energy consumption also limit the type and number of sensors to mount onboard. Lightweight traditional cameras have become a standard off-the-shelf solution in many flapping-wing designs. However, bioinspired event cameras are a promising solution for ornithopter perception due to their microsecond temporal resolution, high dynamic range, and low power consumption. This paper presents an experimental comparison between frame-based and an event-based camera. Both technologies are analyzed considering the particular flapping-wing robot specifications and also experimentally analyzing the performance of well-known vision algorithms with data recorded onboard a flapping-wing robot. Our results suggest event cameras as the most suitable sensors for ornithopters. Nevertheless, they also evidence the open challenges for event-based vision on board flapping-wing robots

Rapidly Declining Body Temperature in a Tropical Human Population

Normal human body temperature (BT) has long been considered to be 37.0°C. Yet, BTs have declined over the past two centuries in the United States, coinciding with reductions in infection and increasing life expectancy. The generality of and reasons behind this phenomenon have not yet been well studied. Here, we show that Bolivian forager-farmers (n = 17,958 observations of 5481 adults age 15+ years) inhabiting a pathogen-rich environment exhibited higher BT when first examined in the early 21st century (~37.0°C). BT subsequently declined by ~0.05°C/year over 16 years of socioeconomic and epidemiological change to ~36.5°C by 2018. As predicted, infections and other lifestyle factors explain variation in BT, but these factors do not account for the temporal declines. Changes in physical activity, body composition, antibiotic usage, and thermal environment are potential causes of the temporal decline

Perfil clínico y estrategias terapéuticas en pacientes con miocardiopatía arritmogénica tratados en un instituto de referencia nacional

Objective. To determine the epidemiological, clinical, electrocardiographic, imaging characteristics and main therapeutic strategies performed in patients with arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy treated in a national reference cardiovascular institute. Materials and methods. Observational, descriptive and retrospective study that attempts to identify the clinical characteristics, complementary tests and therapeutic strategies performed in patients with arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy treated at the National Cardiovascular Institute - INCOR EsSalud in Lima, Peru. Results. Thirteen patients were found with arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy. The median age at which the diagnosis was made was 38.2 years and 69.3% of those affected were male. The most frequent clinical manifestations were tachycardic palpitations (92.3%), presyncope (84.6%) and heart failure (69.2%). 23% of the patients suffered a cardiac arrest. All the patients presented at least one episode of ventricular tachycardia, 92.3% with complete left bundle branch block morphology and upper axis. 76.9% received an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), 15.3% underwent ablation and 15.3% received a heart transplant. 84.6% of the patients live to this day. Conclusions. Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy predominantly affected the young and male population. All the patients had a potentially fatal ventricular arrhythmia. Biventricular disease by echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance occurred in 69.2% and 100% of the cases, respectively. The therapeutic strategies used were antiarrhythmic medical treatment, placement of an ICD as secondary prevention, ablation, and heart transplantation. To date, 84.6% of patients survive.Objetivo. Determinar las características epidemiológicas, clínicas, electrocardiográficas, imagenológicas y principales estrategias terapéuticas realizadas en los pacientes con cardiomiopatía arritmogénica tratados en un instituto cardiovascular de referencia nacional. Materiales y métodos. Estudio observacional, descriptivo y retrospectivo que busca identificar las características clínicas, exámenes complementarios y estrategias terapéuticas en pacientes con cardiomiopatía arritmogénica tratados en el Instituto Nacional Cardiovascular – INCOR EsSalud en Lima – Perú. Resultados. Se encontraron trece pacientes con cardiomiopatía arritmogénica. La mediana de edad en la que se realizó el diagnóstico fue 38,2 años y el 69,3% de los afectados era de sexo masculino. Las manifestaciones clínicas más frecuentes fueron las palpitaciones taquicárdicas (92,3%), el presíncope (84,6%) y la falla cardiaca (69,2%). El 23% de los pacientes sufrió un arresto cardiaco. Todos presentaron, al menos, un episodio de taquicardia ventricular, el 92,3% con morfología de bloqueo completo de rama izquierda y eje superior. Al 76,9% se le colocó un desfibrilador automático implantable (DAI), al 15,3% se le realizó ablación y al 15,3% un trasplante cardiaco. El 84,6% de los pacientes vive hasta la actualidad. Conclusiones. La cardiomiopatía arritmogénica afectó predominantemente a población joven y de sexo masculino. Todos los pacientes tuvieron una arritmia ventricular potencialmente fatal. La afección biventricular por ecocardiografía y por resonancia magnética cardiaca se evidenció en el 69,2 y 100% de los casos, respectivamente. Las estrategias terapéuticas empleadas fueron el tratamiento médico antiarrítmico, colocación de un DAI como prevención secundaria, la ablación y el trasplante cardíaco. Hasta la actualidad, el 84,6% de los pacientes sobrevive

Very Low Prevalence and Incidence of Atrial Fibrillation among Bolivian Forager-Farmers

Background: Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia in post-industrialized populations. Older age, hypertension, obesity, chronic inflammation, and diabetes are significant atrial fibrillation risk factors, suggesting that modern urban environments may promote atrial fibrillation. Objective: Here we assess atrial fibrillation prevalence and incidence among tropical horticulturalists of the Bolivian Amazon with high levels of physical activity, a lean diet, and minimal coronary atherosclerosis, but also high infectious disease burden and associated inflammation. Methods: Between 2005–2019, 1314 Tsimane aged 40–94 years (52% female) and 534 Moseten Amerindians aged 40–89 years (50% female) underwent resting 12-lead electrocardiograms to assess atrial fibrillation prevalence. For atrial fibrillation incidence assessment, 1059 (81% of original sample) Tsimane and 310 Moseten (58%) underwent additional ECGs (mean time to follow up 7.0, 1.8 years, respectively). Findings: Only one (male) of 1314 Tsimane (0.076%) and one (male) of 534 Moseten (0.187%) demonstrated atrial fibrillation at baseline. There was one new (female) Tsimane case in 7395 risk years for the 1059 participants with \u3e1 ECG (incidence rate = 0.14 per 1,000 risk years). No new cases were detected among Moseten, based on 542 risk years. Conclusion: Tsimane and Moseten show the lowest levels of atrial fibrillation ever reported, 1/20 to ~1/6 of rates in high-income countries. These findings provide additional evidence that a subsistence lifestyle with high levels of physical activity, and a diet low in processed carbohydrates and fat is cardioprotective, despite frequent infection-induced inflammation. Findings suggest that atrial fibrillation is a modifiable lifestyle disease rather than an inevitable feature of cardiovascular aging

Prevalence of Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment in Indigenous Bolivian Forager-Horticulturalists

Introduction We evaluated the prevalence of dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in indigenous Tsimane and Moseten, who lead a subsistence lifestyle. Methods Participants from population-based samples ≥ 60 years of age (n = 623) were assessed using adapted versions of the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination, informant interview, longitudinal cognitive testing and brain computed tomography (CT) scans. Results Tsimane exhibited five cases of dementia (among n = 435; crude prevalence = 1.2%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.4, 2.7); Moseten exhibited one case (among n = 169; crude prevalence = 0.6%, 95% CI: 0.0, 3.2), all age ≥ 80 years. Age-standardized MCI prevalence was 7.7% (95% CI: 5.2, 10.3) in Tsimane and 9.8% (95% CI: 4.9, 14.6) in Moseten. Cognitive impairment was associated with visuospatial impairments, parkinsonian symptoms, and vascular calcification in the basal ganglia. Discussion The prevalence of dementia in this cohort is among the lowest in the world. Widespread intracranial medial arterial calcifications suggest a previously unrecognized, non-Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD) dementia phenotype

Sodium restriction in patients with chronic heart failure and reduced ejection fraction: A randomized controlled trial

Background: Sodium restriction is recommended for patients with heart failure (HF) despite the lack of solid clinical evidence from randomized controlled trials. Whether or not sodium restrictions provide beneficial cardiac effects is not known. Methods: The present study is a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial of stable HF patients with ejection fraction ≤ 40%. Patients were allocated to sodium restriction (2 g of sodium/day) vs. control (3 g of sodium/day). The primary outcome was change in N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) at 20 weeks. Secondary outcomes included quality of life and adverse safety events (HF readmission, blood pressure or electrolyte abnormalities). Results: Seventy patients were enrolled. Median baseline sodium consumption was 3268 (2225–4537) mg/day. Adherence to the intervention based on 24-hour urinary sodium was 32%. NT-proBNP and quality of life did not significantly change between groups (p > 0.05 for both). Adverse safety events were not significantly different between the arms (p > 0.6 for all). In the per protocol analysis, patients who achieved a sodium intake < 2500 mg/day at the  intervention conclusion showed improvements in NT-proBNP levels (between-group difference: –55%, 95% confidence interval –27 to –73%; p = 0.002) and quality of life (between-group difference –11 ± 5 points; p = 0.04). Blood pressure decreased in patients with lower sodium intake (between-group difference –9 ± 5 mmHg; p = 0.05) without significant differences in symptomatic hypotension or other safety events (p > 0.3 for all). Conclusions: Adherence assessed by 24-hour natriuresis and by the nutritionist was poor. The group allocated to sodium restriction did not show improvement in NT-proBNP. However, patients who achieved a sodium intake < 2500 mg/day appeared to have improvements in NT-proBNP and quality of life without any adverse safety signals. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03351283